Dad sentenced for DWI crash that killed daughter, 4

In an emotional hearing Tuesday in Cayuga County Court, Stacey Lamphere sobbed as she told the court of the anguish of losing her 4-year-old daughter, Brooke, in a drunken driving accident last July.

Minutes later, her ex-husband, Jerry, was sentenced to state prison for driving the car that killed Brooke.

"I will never get to give her my kisses that seemed to fix everything," the Auburn mother said. "I will not see her start her first day of school or see who she will grow up to be. Her sister, Taylor, has lost her best friend and playmate."

Jerry Lamphere, 31, of 57 West St., Auburn, was sentenced to five to 10 years in prison for the felony charge of second-degree manslaughter and one-year terms in county jail for misdemeanor counts of driving while intoxicated and endangering the welfare of a child. He was also fined $1,000 and ordered to pay a $270 surcharge for the felony, a $250 driver's fee and a $50 DNA fee. His license was revoked for six months.

When he pleaded guilty March 6, Jerry Lamphere admitted he had been drinking the evening of July 20 and showed up at Stacey Lamphere's Seymour Street apartment after midnight. The two argued, Stacey left and Jerry Lamphere put Brooke and her half-sister, Taylor Holzhauer, who was 7 at the time, to get pizza.

When he returned to Seymour Street, he saw police and fled. He crashed his car on Potter Road in Throop. Brooke, who was not in a safety seat, suffered massive trauma. Taylor suffered minor injuries.

Lamphere sobbed when it was his turn to speak.

"I just want to say that if I could go back and do this over again, it would not happen," he said. "I miss my daughter. I was a good father. I tried to do everything I could for her. I wish it was me and not her," he said.

Stacey Lamphere said her ex-husband will have to live with knowing he caused Brooke's death.

"As mad as we are about the situation, we have to forgive," she said. "Jerry will spend a lifetime facing himself for what has happened and knowing that our precious baby is gone."

Here's Stacey Lamphere's statement, which she read in Cayuga County Court just prior to her ex-husband's sentencing for the drunken driving accident July 21 that killed their daughter:

No words can explain what a (loss) it has been losing Brooke. We were given a special gift wrapped in a little blonde with blue eyes. You never expect to lose a 4-year-old or any child for that matter. I believe in life we take things for granted. We believe we have forever to watch our children grow until a tragedy like this occurs.

Each morning you open your eyes expecting to see Brooke's face and reality is what you face. My baby isn't there. I will never get to give her my kisses that seemed to fix everything. I will not see her start her first day of school or see who she will grow up to become. Her sister, Taylor, has lost her best friend and playmate. Brooke's life was cut short by a senseless act. That morning is relived everyday in my mind. You sit and think of all the ways you could have changed that morning of July 21st. Then you think of the book of life, where your date to enter this world is and the day that you will depart is. As humans, we don't understand why? Or why a 4-year-old should have to leave the earth so sudden when she had a full life ahead of her. That('s) where your faith comes into play. You have to believe that the Lord has a plan and a reason behind such a tragedy. As a mother you want your child in your arms to hold and love. But until that day comes again Jesus is holding Brooke, until each family member joins her to fix the chain that has been broken. As each one of us depart from the earth the chain will link again.

Nothing will ever be the same without Brooke. As mad as we are about the situation, we have to forgive. Jerry will spend a lifetime facing himself for what has happened and knowing that our precious baby is gone. We pray and trust that God will put his hand on the sentencing for Jerry, for he's been sentenced for a lifetime already.
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